UC College-Conservatory of Music Announces Opera Scholarship Competition Winners

Five voice students were named winners of the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music's (CCM) 2014 Opera Scholarship Competition, which was held Saturday, March 15, in UC's Corbett Auditorium. The annual competition welcomes current and incoming CCM voice students to compete for scholarships and cash prizes, and a panel of judges composed of opera industry professionals selects each year's class of prizewinners.

The 2014 CCM Opera Scholarship Competition winners are...

Edward Nelson (Candidate - Artist Diploma) from Saugus, Calif., studying with William McGraw. Prize: Full-tuition scholarship and the Corbett Award ($15,000). This award is supported by the Corbett Foundation in cooperation with the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music. This award also guarantees a stage audition with New York City Opera.

Talya Lieberman (Candidate - Artist Diploma) from Forest Hills, N.Y., studying with William McGraw. Prize: Full-tuition scholarship and the Italo Tajo Memorial Award ($15,000) This award is supported by the Italo Tajo Memorial Scholarship Fund (established by Mr. Tajo's wife, Mrs. Inelda Tajo) in cooperation with the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music.

Christopher Bozeka (Candidate - Master of Music) from Akron, Ohio, studying with William McGraw. Prize: Full-tuition scholarship and the Andrew White Memorial Award ($12,500). This award is supported by the Andrew White Memorial Scholarship Fund in cooperation with the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music.

Alec Carlson (Candidate - Master of Music) from Red Oak, Iowa, studying with Kenneth Shaw. Prize: Full-tuition scholarship and the Seybold-Russell Award ($10,000). This award is supported by the Seybold-Russell Scholarship Fund in cooperation with the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music.

Jasmine Habersham (Candidate - Artist Diploma) from Macon, Ga., studying William McGraw. Prize: Full-tuition scholarship and the John Alexander Memorial Award ($10,000). This award is sponsored by the John Alexander Memorial Scholarship Fund in cooperation with the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music.

The following students also received an award as part of the competition...

Jessica Faselt (Incoming - Master of Music) from Iowa City, Iowa. Prize: Corbett Incentive Award for new Master of Music students ($2,000). This award is supported by the Corbett Foundation in cooperation with the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music.

Ann Toomey (Incoming - Master of Music) from Shelby Township, Mich. Prize: Corbett Incentive Award for new Master of Music students ($2,000). This award is supported by the Corbett Foundation in cooperation with the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music.

The judges' panel for CCM's 2014 Opera Scholarship Competition included Cori Ellison, Chief Dramaturg of the Glyndbourne Festival and Dramaturg at American Lyric Theatre in New York; Neal Goren, Artistic and General Director of the Gotham Chamber Opera in New York; and Craig Terry, Music Director of the Patrick G. and Shirley W. Ryan Opera Center at the Lyric Opera of Chicago. Learn more about this year's Opera Scholarship Competition by visiting uc.edu/news/NR.aspx?id=19470.

The Department of Opera at the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music boasts one of the most comprehensive training programs for opera singers, coaches and directors in the United States. Students at CCM work with some of the most renowned teachers and artists active in opera today.

CCM students frequently advance to the final rounds of the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions. Furthermore, CCM's Mainstage and Studio Series of Opera have received some of the National Opera Association Production Competition's highest honors throughout the years, taking home six of the 18 nonprofessional prizes awarded in 2010 and four prizes in 2011.

CCM Opera graduates have performed on the stages of the world's greatest opera companies, including Cincinnati Opera, Metropolitan Opera (New York), Lyric Opera of Chicago, San Francisco Opera, Royal Opera (London), La Scala (Italy) and more.

CCM's 2013-14 opera season concludes next month with Donizetti's beloved Don Pasquale (April 3-6), conducted by Mark Gibson with stage direction by Omer Ben-Seadia. Learn more about that production by visiting ccm.uc.edu/boxoffice/donpasquale.

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